(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for hanging or supporting a carrier board, which is aimed to removes the concerns regarding safety, insufficient fastening force, damage caused on the surface of a steel cable or support bar by single point fastening, and loss of regularity of the cable caused by single point fastening, which occur in the conventional carrier board hanging device that only relies on a threaded fastening element to generate a single point fastening force.
In the technique field and applications of the present invention, the device of the present invention is a hardware piece that is devoted to hanging a carrier board or rack. The hardware piece or supporting device is applicable to a steel cable or a support bar and can be efficiently mounted to/dismounted from the steel cable or support bar in accordance requirements regarding difference and variation in altitude for supporting, in a hanging manner, an object or serving as exhibition for advanced creations, thereby efficiently exploit the use of space. Thus, in the supporting device of the present invention, the hardware piece can be made for realizing single-direction interconnection, dual-direction interconnection, vertical interconnection, or specific-direction interconnection of the carrier board or rack, having various configurations and functionalities, yet the primary structure of the body of the hardware piece is still within the idea of inducing a fastening force against a steel cable or a support bar. The present invention is developed on the basis of such an issue to provide an important improvement of the supporting hardware piece.
The improvement of the present invention generally resides on the arrangement of a force-application piece between a body of the supporting device and a threaded fastening element in order to make improvements on the fastening force of the assembling of the supporting device, the safety of assembling, the regularity of the steel cable after being fastened, and avoiding damaging the surface of the steel cable or support bar, thereby imposing brand new functions and advanced assembling and use to and supporting device of this kind, together with consideration of safety, wherein the force-application piece of the present invention shows the following structural features:
(1) The force-application piece is set in the form of a plate and forms a centrally recessed space and uses the recessed space to provide a threaded fastening element with the most suitable accommodation space and the optimum force application point to thereby maximizing the degree of uniformity of fastening force.
(2) The plate configuration of the force-application piece has upper and lower ends respectively forming slanting lead-in faces for leading in and fast and correctly positioning a steel cable when the steel cable is fit through the force-application piece.
(3) The plate configuration of the force-application piece has a force-application face, which is set opposing the steel cable or the support bar and is of a hooping and fitting configuration in the form of a concave notch, which effects hooping and fitting on the steel cable and support bar and also increases the contact area of hooping and fitting of the force application piece thereby effectively and reliably enhances the hooping and fitting force.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The use and arrangement of hang exhibitions are getting popular in for example companies, stores, art galleries, shopping malls, shopping centers, public places, stations, or even government organizations and they can be in various forms and become an important item for advertisement, exhibition, and even decoration. Thus, besides the major use of hanging exhibitions, the hanging type support or carrier is commonly accepted in various applications. The early hanging type arrangement and/or construction is often done by tying ropes or wires, which often leads to safety problems and various troubles. Thus, such an arrangement is discarded by the industry and the general consumers. To put progress and development of the hanging type support or carrying, hardware pieces for hanging have been developed and available in the market. In respect of hanging with a cable or a support bar, the hardware piece plays a critical role and also provides functionality in the respects of aesthetics, practicability, and safety. Thus, for a hardware piece for hanging purposes, besides being delicate and good-looking, four primary concerns must be taken into consideration, including: ease assembling of the structure, load-carrying capacity of the structure, durability, and safety.
Currently, a hardware piece or supporting device (A10) dedicated for use with a steel cable or a support bar is available in the market, and an example is shown in FIG. 1. The supporting device (A10) comprises a body (A1) and a threaded fastening element (A2). The body (A1) has a front portion forming a constrained clamping slot (A11) for clamping and securing an edge of a carrier board or rack (not shown) therein. The body (A1) also has a rear portion in which a semi-circular channel (A12) is formed by machining in a transverse direction. The semi-circular channel (A12) is of an open configuration with an internally threaded hole (A13) is formed by vertically drilling a central portion thereof for threadingly receiving and engaging the threaded fastening element (A2) to thereby directly secure to the steel cable (B) or a support bar received therein.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the conventional supporting device (A10) receives the steel cable (B) in the semi-circular open channel (A12) or a support bar fit therein, the steel cable (B) or the support bar will initially abut against and follow the channel (A12), maintaining a straight condition. However, since the formation of the threaded hole (A13) by drilling inevitably leaves a drill bit indent (A14) inside the body (A1), when the threaded fastening element (A2) is tightened, the steel cable (B) is subjected to depression of the threaded fastening element (A2), causing skewing or twisting, which leads to irregularity of the structure and influences the structural stability and safety of the hung carrier board.
Further, fastening of the conventional supporting device (A10) to the steel cable (B) or a support bar is realized a threaded fastening element (A2) that is fastened in a direct and perpendicular manner. This often causes damage to the surface of the steel cable (B) or the support bar due to the forcible fastening operation, leading to a fastening mark or a notch on the surface. Each time the fastening operation is performed, a new mark or new notch is formed, which may cause separation of filaments of the steel cable (B) in a short period, or induce corrosion of the support bar due to the notches formed on the surface thereof.
In addition, the conventional supporting device (A10) is only secured at a single point by a single threaded fastening element (A2), but has to carry the whole load of the carrier board. This only leads to concerns about safety. Unexpected loosening due to excessive load acting one the single fastening point may incur safety problem to surrounding people and also cause damage to valuable articles positioned on the carrier board. Consequently, the conventional hardware piece or supporting device (A10) does apparently not meet the requirements for load-carrying capacity, durability, and safety of the structure of the device.